Battle of the Kings
by giftheck
Summary: Set two years after the events of Zootopia. A nuclear meltdown in the country of Hinode results in the awakening of a legendary beast. The beast's awakening causes another to flee towards Zootopia. Can Zootopia survive an inevitable clash of the titans? And how will Nick and Judy cope? Crossover with Godzilla.
1. The GULF

Welcome to my first Zootopia crossover! I haven't much to say on this one because it's kind of a much newer idea than _Futures Past_ is, but I hope you enjoy it just the same.

Disclaimers: _Zootopia_ and its characters belong to Disney. _Godzilla_, _Shin Godzilla_ and their characters belong to Toho.

* * *

**ZOOTOPIA AND GODZILLA**

**BATTLE OF THE KINGS**

**ゴジラ****対****シン・ゴジラ**

**The GULF**

_Bikini Atoll, 1954_

For months, the Animalians had been receiving reports from nuclear submarines in the Pawcific Ocean. They were constantly under attack by a massive creature. The creature would always target a specific spot on the submarines but would not actively try to eat any of the passengers on board.

What struck the Animalian government as odd was that the creature seemed to be drawn to the submarines because of their onboard nuclear reactors. It was these reactors that were always missing from the wreckages of the submarines.

The crew of one submarine, the _ASS Antares_, had managed to take measurements of the creature before it tore into their submarine. It was described as being reptilian in appearance, with gills and large dorsal plates on its back. The _ASS Antares_ had launched torpedoes against the creature but had registered no damage to their target, before the Animalian government lost contact. Presumably, the submarine had been destroyed by whatever the creature was.

In light of the loss of a number of their military submarines, the Animalian government had prepared a plan: they were going to lure the creature to Bikini Atoll with a nuclear submarine. When it made landfall, they would then unleash a brand-new weapon upon it, hoping that it would be killed.

It seemed the plan was a success, as the moment the creature made landfall, Animalia launched its first ever dry-detonation hydrogen bomb. When the mushroom cloud cleared, the creature was gone, and the Animalians assumed they had killed it successfully.

Little did they know that the creature had not died: it had simply retreated into the ocean to hibernate, the nuclear energy from the missile to much for it to process.

And beyond that, the Animalians did not know one other thing: a sea reptile had been caught in the blast, and the nuclear explosion had begun a lengthy process of mutation on the creature…

* * *

_Zootopia, 2018_

If somebody had told the residents of Zootopia that there would be a giant fifty-metre-tall monster stomping through the streets, they would have been told they had watched too many sci-fi movies. But the scene that lay before Nick and Judy was no science fiction fantasy. It was a nightmare of reality.

It was chaos. Smoke poured from demolished and damaged buildings as the massive, lumbering creature slowly stomped its way through Savanna Central. The creature stood on two feet, had a flayed, raw-looking hide, with large, maple leaf-shaped dorsal plates running down its back. Its maw was filled with razor sharp, jagged teeth. Its eyes, which would have given the creature a comical appearance had it not been for its size, were large and resembled those of a fish. Gills ran down the sides of the creature's neck, and a pair of tiny arms, just formed, protruded from the shoulders of the creature.

Nick and Judy had been called to evacuate Otterdam, which was on the creature's projected path.

"How…?" Judy breathed, surveying the destruction caused by the gargantuan beast, "How did it get to this?"

As soon as Judy vocalised the thought, her radio blared to life.

"_All units, we have received a sighting of something big headed for the Lion's Tail._" Came an urgent voice.

"_Outback Island calling for assistance! Creature sighting! This one's much bigger!_"

"Oh no…" Judy gasped.

"_Creature has made landfall!_"

"_Gods above! It's got to be double the size of the first one!_"

"_It's stopped moving! What's it gonna do?_"

Judy looked towards the Lion's Tail.

There it was. The massive creature towered above the smaller buildings on the outskirts of the district. It was glaring in their direction.

And then it let loose a roar that shook windows even in Otterdam. It was that powerful that Judy doubled over in pain and clutched her head as her sensitive ears blared in pain. Nick rushed to her, but anything he said was drowned out by the creature's bellow.

_SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-ooonk!_

* * *

_Kamata district, Janjira, Hinode, one week previously…_

If there was one thing that Doctor Ishiro Serizawa knew, it was that mammalkind was _not_, in spite of its own conceptions, the highest-evolved order of creatures on the planet. The file he was reading was evidence of that.

Serizawa, a Hinodese Hare, was a scientist with a global organization named Monarch. Serizawa was born to Daisuke and Keiko Serizawa in 1945, the same year that the so-called Atomic Age began. Ironically, the dawn of that violent age would usher in a much more peaceful era where mammalkind would start to live in harmony, but little did the world know that Mother Nature had other plans for it. The more superstitious would suggest that what had started happening since was punishment for centuries of creating enemies out of themselves.

Monarch was a scientific organization dedicated to the study of hyperfauna – massive creatures that Japanese folklore referred to as 'Kaijū'. It was established in the wake of a certain discovery in 1954.

The advent of nuclear-powered submarines and their trial runs in the Pawcific Ocean had drawn the attention of a massive, unidentified creature. The creature attacked submarines in the area, consuming the nuclear reactors on board. It all culminated in a plan to lure the unidentified creature (Monarch labelled each creature as a 'MUTO' – Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) to Bikini Atoll in the Pawcific Ocean and kill it with a nuclear strike.

The file Serizawa was reading was evidence of that, but it was far from public knowledge.

The Hinodese had their own thoughts on what the creature was: ancient Hinodese folklore spoke of a gigantic reptile called 'Gojira'. Very few mammals recalled the legend these days: the notion of a gigantic mammal-eating sea lizard would be absurd to the modern world, but in ancient times, such creatures were believed to have been worshipped as Gods. And for that very reason, Gojira had also adopted a second name: 'Godzilla'.

Serizawa flipped open the file in front of him. He had been through this file many times, but always returned to it whenever a search for Gojira turned into a dead-end. He had to amend the file each time, but he always took care to read through it in case he missed something previously.

_OPERATION CASTLE BRAVO_

_Bikini Atoll, March 1, 1954._

_CLASSIFIED – MONARCH._

Serizawa flipped to the back of the file, which detailed the kaijū sighting in question:

_Reported Kaijū Sighting, Bikini Atoll, 1954._

_Codename: Gojira._

_Estimated height: 50 metres._

_Origin: A legend on Odo Island suggests that Gojira is an ancient sea kaijū that comes ashore to feed on mammalkind. According to that legend, natives to the island would sacrifice a child, often a girl, to Gojira in order to satisfy it and prevent it from coming ashore. Ancient cave paintings depict a gargantuan bipedal creature with dorsal spines. Evidently, the creature discovered in the Pawcific was _not_ feeding on the mammals of Odo Island, but instead chose to attack nuclear submarines. It is clear that Gojira feeds off radioactive energy and has been drawn from the depths of the seas by the advent of nuclear power._

_There is no doubt that the Animalians think they killed Gojira with the nuclear bomb they detonated at Bikini Atoll. We, however, believe that Gojira, overwhelmed by the energy expended by the explosion, had gone into hibernation and is somewhere beneath the sea, waiting for the right time to awaken again._

_Further exploration across the world has found the skeletons of very similar creatures, with lengths estimated to be in the ranges of 40 metres and 120 metres. The skeletons were dated to the Permian period. Without knowing exactly what gender Gojira is, or whether the skeletons belonged to males or females, there is currently no way to know whether Gojira is fully-grown. There is also a chance that Gojira's size might be affected by the level of radiation it consumes: one would imagine that the levels of natural radiation in the Permian era were much higher and as such the Gojira species, which could be called Gojirasaurus, would have grown to gargantuan heights._

_If this species is declared officially, we would like to opt for the name 'Gojirasaurus Nuclei Magna'. _

Serizawa had been searching for Gojira for years. It was he who helped find the skeleton of a long-dead member of the Gojirasaurus family underneath a collapsed mine in the Philippines in 1999. However, the discovery did not provide any leads as to where Gojira itself might have gone.

A knock came at the door. Serizawa looked up: stood in the doorway was one of his pupils, Sora Byakko. Sora was a red fox who had been born with leucism, which had resulted in her fur becoming a pale cream, almost white colour: a true rarity in Hinode for sure. The fact that she was a fox had never once bothered Serizawa: he prized minds, not species. Monarch's higher-ups had been somewhat less enthused, but Serizawa had personally vouched for her.

"Sorry to interrupt, Sensei," Sora remarked, "But something has just happened at the Hitsujikōjō nuclear plant."

Serizawa turned his full attention to her, taking his glasses off.

"What is it?" Serizawa replied, motioning for Sora to come in to his office.

"The power plant was running a live simulation of a power failure when one of the reactors began to melt down," Sora stated. Serizawa stared hard at her.

"Gojira?" Serizawa asked.

"No sign," Sora replied, "But the radiation the reactor is emitting…"

"It could draw Gojira out of hiding, yes," Serizawa stood up. He glanced away, thinking to himself for a moment, before returning his attention to Sora.

"We need to monitor the situation," Serizawa said, "The radiation levels will be lethal, but if Gojira draws close enough, it might absorb that radiation."

"Will you need Yaban-kōhai?" Sora asked.

"Yes, fetch him," Serizawa replied, "And don't let him catch you calling him that…" he called out after Sora as she turned to leave, "You know how much he dislikes that name."

"I say it out of affection, sensei," Sora pouted.

"It might be best if you treat Hopps-san with a bit more respect while working," Serizawa pointed out, "You know he doesn't work as well when he's irritated."

Sora bowed before departing the room, leaving Serizawa to return to the file. He glanced at a photo, taken from one of the battleships in 1954, just prior to the Castle Bravo bomb struck. The photo showed a partially surfaced gigantic lizard with huge, spiked dorsal plates on its back.

"Gojira…" Serizawa said, "Will you reveal yourself again?"

* * *

_Pawcific Ocean_

Far beneath the ocean's surface, something was heading towards the Hitsujikōjō meltdown site, drawn there by the radiation.

Despite Serizawa's hopes, it was _not_ Gojira. The creature in question was much smaller, with a rounded head, protruding gills and flippers, as well as massive fish-eyes on its face. It had small dorsal spines on its back and a lengthy tail that terminated in a frill.

Once upon a time, the creature had been the very sea reptile

As it swam towards the meltdown, it drew the attention of something much, much bigger than itself. At first, it seemed to not notice the much larger predator behind it, but then, as if suddenly becoming aware, it swam around as a massive pair of jaws closed where the creature had been previously.

Swimming as fast as its flippers would allow, the creature turned away from the very thing that had drawn it there in the first place, instead heading out into the open ocean.

And Gojira, who viewed the entire ocean as its territory, turned around, intending to pursue it.

* * *

_Zootopia News Network report_

"_This is Zootopia News Network, with Fabienne Growley."_

"_Good morning. Today begins the first step of the denuclearisation of Zootopia's famous climate wall, which has been running off the Zootopia Nuclear Facility's power since its construction. As part of an initiative introduced by Mayor Leodore Lionheart, the climate wall is to be powered by a hydro-power plant situated on the former Cliffside Asylum site. Mayor Lionheart said that this was the first step in creating a much cleaner Zootopia. We'll have more on this story later. In other news, George Lupus has announced he is selling LupusFilm, the studio behind famed film series Star Boars, to…"_

* * *

_Rainforest District, Zootopia_

It was the end of another long day of making the world a better place. Nick and Judy had helped to deflate a potential suicidal mammal situation in a City Centre hotel. A caracal had holed himself up in one of the rooms with a then-unknown weapon (which turned out to be a butter knife) and threatened to do some damage to himself. Nick was the one assigned to talking the caracal down, given his way with words.

After work, Nick and Judy had arranged to meet with Nick's mother. Viola Wilde lived at 1955 Cypress Grove Lane, in an apartment built into the trunk of a massive tree. Nick had always listed that address as his official residence before meeting Judy, though at the time it had been years since he had been there. After the Night Howler case concluded, Judy had encouraged Nick to get back in touch with his mother, and they had reunited. She stood proudly in the stands at Nick's graduation ceremony.

That had been well over a year ago, and a lot had happened. Leodore Lionheart had not only been released, but had been re-elected as mayor. Mammals previously not expected to become police officers with the ZPD had. There was even a weasel officer.

The biggest change for Nick and Judy was that, six months ago, they had started dating. They already lived as roommates in their shared Savanna Central apartment, which Nick had bought but had not used up until that point. It meant that Nick and Judy had spent a lot of time together, and one thing evidently lead to another. It had been a little complicated to work things out, their respective species notwithstanding. It was generally frowned upon for ZPD officers to date each other, but so long as there was no difference in rank, then it was not against the rules. Bogo had given them a lecture about remaining professional on the job and told them he didn't care what they did out of uniform.

Nick, of course, had a snarky quip ready for that, and Judy had a shoulder punch ready for Nick.

Viola was one of the first to find out that Nick and Judy were an item, though she had professed to suspecting from the time Nick had introduced Judy to her. She didn't care that Judy was a bunny. She saw the mammal who had turned her son's life around for the better.

It had become a regular arrangement that once every week, Nick and Judy would go over to Viola's apartment to visit.

Nick knocked on the front door. After a brief pause, it creaked open. There behind the door stood Viola. She looked younger than her 51 years, and had Judy not already known that Viola was Nick's mother, she would have taken her to be Nick's older sister.

"Nicholas! Judy!" Viola greeted the pair with an embrace.

"Hi, Mom," Nick replied, trying not to let his smile get too big.

"Hello, Mrs. Wilde!" Judy beamed.

"Please call me Viola, Judy," Viola smiled down at the rabbit. "Come on in!" She stepped out of their way and ushered them inside. As they did so, a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen.

* * *

After dinner was finished, and after Nick and Judy talked to Viola about how their week had gone, they bade Viola a good night and headed out of the door. Just as they reached Nick's car, a red Herd Mustang, both their phones rang.

"Huh…" Nick remarked upon reading the caller ID. "Wanna answer it, Carrots? I'm kinda just thinking of ignoring it."

"What could they be calling us for at this hour?" Judy wondered. She answered the call, putting it on loudspeaker so Nick could hear.

"This is Hopps."

"_Lieutenant, we need you and Lieutenant Wilde to come back to the Precinct,_" the voice of Leroy Wolfard came through.

"It's our night off, Wolfard," Judy frowned.

"_Chief's pulling everybody in,_" Wolfard explained. "_Something exploded below Zootopia Sound and the Bunnyburrow Link Tunnel is taking in water._"

Judy straightened. Nick frowned.

"Terrorist?" Judy said.

"_We don't know yet,_" Wolfard confessed.

Nick and Judy glanced briefly at each other.

"We'll be at the briefing soon," Judy said before hanging up.

"Well, there goes our early night…" Nick lamented.

* * *

_ZPD Precinct One_

It took Nick and Judy roughly thirty minutes to get from Viola's apartment to Precinct One, get changed, and find their seats in the Bullpen. The usual joking and banter of the officers seated in the Bullpen was absent. Instead, all officers were staring intently at the currently vacant podium. The side door opened and Chief Bogo stepped in, stomping his way towards the podium. There was none of the usual chanting or bumping of paws against desks.

"Alright…" Bogo said. "I don't need to tell you why you've been called here. Two hours ago, an explosion was detected in Zootopia Sound, right above the Bunnyburrow Link line."

"Any damage?" Trisha Fangmeyer, the tiger officer sitting on the end of the same row as Nick and Judy, asked.

"The roof of the tunnel was damaged, causing water to flood into the tunnel," Bogo answered. "One of the shielded power transformers was destroyed."

"Sir, wouldn't it likely be terrorist activity?" Judy posited.

"We're ruling nothing out but it would be an odd target if it was a terrorist act," Bogo replied.

"Wouldn't the ZBI be the better bet for this?" Judy asked.

"Until we know what we're dealing with, we're going to keep this in-house," Bogo remarked.

"Maybe it's a giant sea creature," Nick suggested, sarcasm in his voice.

"Shut your mouth, Wilde!" Bogo replied.

"Sir… all due respect, but… Could this have not waited until morning?" Delgato yawned.

"I need some of you to assist the Outback Island Precinct in investigating, and the sooner that begins, the sooner we know what we're dealing with. So, no, Delgato: this could not wait until morning," Bogo shot Delgato a glare before returning to the docket he had in front of him.

"So," Bogo said, "we need six officers to assist immediately. The Commissioner already chose which six of you would be best to go. Officers Snarlov, Higgins, Trunkaby, Wolfard, Fangmeyer, Delgato," Delgato groaned quietly at the mention of his name, "and Grizzoli. Everybody else is dismissed, but keep your phones switched on. We don't know how this situation will develop."

Chairs scraped as the officers assembled dispersed. Nick and Judy hopped off theirs. Judy cast Nick a look.

"Really, Slick? Giant sea creature?" Judy smirked.

"What? Never seen _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_?" Nick answered.

"I'm not old." Judy grinned.

"I'll have you know, you young whippersnapper, that in my day…" Nick said, hunching slightly and giving his best impression of an old fox.

"That's an awful impression," Judy laughed.

"My impressions are excellent, thank you," Nick replied in a falsely haughty manner.

* * *

The following morning, Judy was awoken by her phone's belting out of _Try Everything_. Pushing her ear up from over her eye, she took the phone from her nightstand and blearily looked at it.

There was a message with a single link. She clicked the link as she rubbed her eyes. It took a moment for her to fully digest what it was she was seeing.

She sat up, turned around and shook Nick gently.

"Nick, wake up…" Judy said.

"Five more minutes…" Nick groaned.

"This is important," Judy replied. Nick slowly sat up and rubbed his own eyes as he looked at Judy's phone.

On the phone's display was a ZNN news report. But the video at the head of the article was what drew Nick's attention.

The video was evidently taken from the shores of Outback Island, looking out over Zootopia Sound.

And emerging from the surface of Zootopia Sound was a massive tail-like appendage with a frayed end.

"Carrots, that's gotta be some sort of prank," Nick yawned.

As if defying Nick's assessment, Judy's phone rang. It was from the ZPD. Judy answered it on loudspeaker.

"This is Hopps," Judy answered.

"_I take it you've seen the news,_" Bogo's voice said.

"I take it that this is some sort of hustle," Nick murmured.

"_Wrong, Wilde, it's real. That thing… that creature has even moved closer to shore since that video was taken in the early hours. There are concerns it could beach itself. Get ready for a long day, because I'm calling every officer in._"

* * *

_Monarch file: Giant Unidentified Life Form._

_Estimated size: Accurate readings have yet to be taken._

_Unique characteristics: During our tracking of it, it appears that GULF has physically changed, suggesting the ability to adapt dependant on its environment. At the present it appears to be mindlessly swimming towards sources of radiation, but it also appears to be swimming away from something. Perhaps some much larger predator. Gills like a frilled shark extend from the sides of its neck suggesting that, at current, it cannot breathe above the surface._

* * *

And that's it for the introduction to this story!

Some behind the scenes things:

-The events of the story take place two years after _Zootopia_'s main events.

-Unlike _Futures Past_, which creates an entirely new origin for Nick, Nick's origins here are pretty close to his _Reconciliation_ self. Obviously, there will be _some_ differences to how his future unfolds though. Giant radioactive monsters tend to do that ^^ I haven't yet decided whether hybridization is possible in this universe, but again: giant radioactive monsters that shouldn't be able to exist anyway.

-Godzilla Prime (as I'm calling him internally) is indeed based off the 2014 Godzilla with very little alteration: the only real change I've made is that in the 2014 film, Godzilla appears to consistently be 108 metres in height, whereas here I've got it so that when Godzilla appeared in 1954, it was 50 metres in height – consistent with the version of Godzilla from the 1954 film. In the present day it has grown to 108 metres. It also lacked its atomic breath up until the Castle Bravo bomb.

-I've described Shin Godzilla's first form in this chapter. You can find a sketch of it on my DeviantArt account.


	2. Ashore

Side note: The best piece of music to listen to for this chapter would be _Persecution of the Masses_ from the official soundtrack to _Shin Godzilla_. For obvious reasons, a large chunk of this part of the story is directly inspired by the film, so I can think of no other score.

* * *

**Ashore**

"_Good morning, Zootopia. I'm Peter Moosebridge, bringing you the latest in breaking news. The unidentified creature off the coast of Outback Island has started to make its way towards the Bayou Canal. Mayor Lionheart has called a press conference for later this afternoon to assure the public that City Hall is doing all it can…_"

"What's he gonna do? Get the timber wolves to capture it and lock it in Cliffside?" Nick remarked as he turned away from the television in Precinct One's café.

All ZPD officers had been called in to ensure order was kept. As was always the case, the usual band of 'End Timers' had started declaring the creature as the first sign of a coming apocalypse, and the ZPD had to keep them under control before their hysteria spread.

"Come on, Slick," Judy remarked, pulling Nick away from the television. "Let's get to briefing before Bogo has our hides."

The pair wandered from the café into the bullpen where other officers were waiting. The subdued atmosphere from the previous day had subsided a little, but there was still an air of restraint in the bullpen.

"Sheesh, a gigantic tail erupts from Zootopia Sound and everybody acts like it's a funeral," Nick remarked as he clambered into his seat.

"Probably because nobody knows what we're going to do about it," Judy pointed out as she joined him.

The side door opened, and Bogo entered the room, taking his position up the top of the podium. He placed his clipboard down and put his glasses on.

"The only item on the docket this morning is ensuring that there will not be any panic caused by the appearance of this… creature," Bogo remarked. "I'll be assigning you in pairs or groups to parts of the District to ensure that panic is kept to a minimum. So, assignments: Officers Snarlov, Higgins and Rhinowitz: Haymarket. Officers Wolfard, Fangmeyer and Delgato: Gnu York. Officers Trunkaby, Pennington and Jackson: Acorn Heights. Officers Grizzoli and Wolfowitz: Vole Garden. Officers Hopps and Wilde: Otterdam. Dismissed!"

* * *

_Otterdam_

Thankfully, Nick and Judy had been given the quiet part of the city centre, though that didn't mean there was no panic. Otterdam was situated close to the heart of Zootopia, in the Downtown area. Canals ran through the district like veins. Smaller mammals lived in Otterdam – as the name would suggest, otters often dwelled there, but there were beavers, stoats and hares in the community as well.

"I swear! That creature's gonna come ashore and rain fire on us!"

Nick had been talking to an old, hysterical beaver stood on one street corner while Judy kept onlookers away.

"Reggie, the thing's in the water," Nick pointed out. "It's not ashore, and I doubt it's gonna come ashore either."

"You didn't see what I saw!" Reggie protested.

"We all know about your tales of the fifties," Nick responded.

"I was there!" Reggie protested. "I saw the thing rise from the ocean before they tried to blow it sky high! Why is the only mammal that believes me is Badge?"

"Well, that crazy old honey badger also believes in the 'cudspiracy'," Nick pointed out.

"That crazy sheep Bellwether did the Night Howlers, didn't she? Maybe she's not as cracked as everybody makes out!" Reggie said.

Nick eventually got Reggie to move on, and he and Judy returned to their squad car. Judy turned the ignition on and pulled out of their parking space just as the radio blared to life.

"_All units, the unknown creature has started travelling up the Bayou Canal,_" came the worried voice of Clawhauser.

"A creature that size? That's going to cause floods…" Judy remarked.

"_We're leaving Gnu York and evacuating the areas surrounding the shore,_" the voice of Officer Fangmeyer announced. "_Officers from Sahara Square are evacuating the shore there._"

"Officer Hopps to Officer Fangmeyer. Do you require assistance?" Judy picked up the radio.

"_No. We've gotten assistance from officers remaining in the east side of the District, as well as the Zootopia Fire Service._"

"10-4," Judy acknowledged. She slotted the radio back into the compartment. "We'll continue patrolling. If things get too bad, we'll start getting Otterdam evacuated."

"Joy," Nick replied dully. "Wonder how many more paranoids we're going to meet today. Maybe we'll bump into Badge too. That'd top our day."

"I keep forgetting you're Mr. I-know-everybody," Judy remarked. "Who _is_ this Badge?"

"Ah, Carrots, you don't ever want to open _that_ can of worms," Nick said smugly. "Let's just say that she was celebrating for days when it came out about Dawn Bellwether."

"Huh?" Judy raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Think Reggie was a few carrots short of a carrot farm?" Nick remarked, which earned him a light punch from Judy.

"Har, har," Judy responded.

"My point is, Honey Badger thinks that the sheep are trying to take over the world," Nick explained. "Well, at least her niece is a bit more balanced… You remember her, right?"

"Uh, no?" Judy glanced at Nick.

"Sure you do, Carrots," Nick said. "After all, we arrested her."

Judy continued staring at Nick with confusion, before realisation dawned on her.

"Oh! She was with Lionheart! She was the one trying to get him to go public with the savage mammals!" Judy exclaimed.

"Give Carrots her carrots!" Nick grinned, earning another light punch.

Judy's phone chimed with the tune from 'Try Everything'. She fished it out from her belt.

"You ever going to change that?" Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Nope," Judy grinned. She checked the screen.

"Parents?" Nick asked.

"Yup," Judy sighed, before swiping across to answer.

"_Judy! Thank goodness!_" Bonnie's stressed voice rang out.

"Hi, Mom!" Judy waved, putting on a false grin.

"_It's all over the news! Are you alright?_"

"You mean the flooding in Bayou Canal? We're keeping an eye on it."

"_They say that it's getting worse! And there's footage of a tail coming from the water!_"

"If you're about to ask me to come home, Mom…" Judy began.

"_Which you should!_" came the voice of Stu Hopps as he appeared on the screen.

"I'm not going to abandon Zootopia when it needs me," Judy insisted.

"_It's too dangerous there! And to think I was worried about you being in the big city before… Is Nick there? Maybe I can get him to talk some sense into you!_" Stu said.

"Nobody's talking any 'sense' into me, Dad," Judy frowned. "And Nick knows that I wouldn't abandon the mammals of the city to save myself."

* * *

_City Hall_

"This is a disaster…" Lionheart pulled a paw through the top of his mane as he watched live news footage of the Bayou Canal flooding. The footage clearly showed a colossal tail and the arched back of some kind of aquatic creature. Spiked spines emerged from its back.

"The ZPD has finished evacuating the areas surrounding Bayou Canal, but we don't have any idea where this creature is going," one of Lionheart's caribou assistants stated.

"Options?" Lionheart asked.

"We could try to drive it off into the ocean," a bison adviser suggested.

"With what?" Lionheart raised an eyebrow.

"We may have to request military support in that regard," the bison answered.

"Weapons in the city? Not so long as I'm Mayor!" Lionheart raised his voice.

"But, sir…"

"Any other suggestions for driving this thing off besides opening fire on it and maybe causing the city and its residents unnecessary damage?"

The phone on Lionheart's desk rang. Lionheart pressed the answer button.

"_Sir, there's a Doctor Serizawa on behalf of Monarch on the line,_" came the voice of Lionheart's secretary.

"Whoever he is, tell him I have something more important to deal with right now," Lionheart responded, ending the call.

"Sir, the use of military equipment to deal with this is…" the bison adviser began.

"Absolutely out of the question," Lionheart finished. "And your insistence makes me wonder if you're the type to go after a fly with a bazooka."

The bison adviser opened his mouth and then shut it again.

"What are the chances of this thing coming ashore?" Lionheart asked.

"I'd guess slim," a deer advisor answered. "We've been in touch with the marine biologists at Zootopia Aquarium. They estimate it to be much longer than the largest recorded mammal, the blue whale, and when they strand themselves, they're often crushed by their own weight. If it were to come ashore, it would most likely suffer the same fate."

"That's little reassurance if it's still causing damage by swimming up the Bayou Canal," Lionheart frowned.

"Sir, the first thing we must do is reassure the public," the deer advisor suggested. "They're going to be panicked. The last thing we need now is a stampede in Savanna Central."

"Agreed," Lionheart nodded.

* * *

_Zootopia News Network report_

"_Good afternoon, Zootopia, this is Zootopia News Network. I'm Peter Moosebridge."_

"_And I'm Fabienne Growley, bringing you the latest updates in Zootopia."_

"_The unidentified creature causing flooding in Savanna Central has currently come to a stop. The damage caused so far is estimated to total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mayor Leodore Lionheart has called a press conference, which we will go to now."_

"_Good afternoon, fellow Zootopians. As you are all aware, an unidentified creature surfaced in Zootopia Sound yesterday evening, causing damage to the Bunnyburrow Link line. Since then, it has headed towards Bayou Bay and made its way up the Bayou Canal, causing flooding to the surrounding areas in Savanna Central. Since then it appears to have stopped moving completely as the canal narrows. We have it on good authority that the creature will not be able to come onto land, as its large mass would mean that it would be crushed under its weight. Let me say it again: there is no cause to be alarmed. The creature can't come ashore, and the damage wrought by it will be repaired."_

"_We'll have to come back to the press conference. We have just received some breaking news that the creature has come ashore in Savanna Central. We'll have more on this story as it unfolds…_"

* * *

_Savanna Central_

It was chaos. Mammals of all shapes and sizes were running in a stampede from the thing that was trudging along the streets of Savanna Central after them, its massive form crushing and casting aside cars, signs, lampposts and anything else in its way. The huge creature, with its large eyes and gaping maw filled with sharp teeth, would almost have looked comical if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation. Sharp, jagged spines in three columns lined its back. The creature's long tail whipped around behind it as it moved. As it staggered along, steaming hot blood leaked from its overlarge gills.

As the streets in its path became narrower, the creature's mass started tearing chunks out of buildings. It wasn't long before it managed to squeeze its way into the centre of Savanna Central. Mammals fled as the lumbering creature turned itself towards a road beside Precinct One, its neck moving loosely from side to side as it shuffled towards its destination.

As it passed Precinct One, its tail whipped through the side of the building.

* * *

"_All officers! We have a… we have… heck, we don't HAVE a code for a giant monster roaming the streets!_" came the panicked voice of Clawhauser.

"… what are _we_ supposed to do?" Nick frowned.

"Clawhauser, can you tell us where it's going, so we can get people evacuated before it gets there?" Judy picked up the radio receiver.

A loud thud came over the radio, followed by static.

"Clawhauser!" Judy yelled.

There was no answer. Judy glanced at Nick.

"Well, we gotta do what we gotta do," Nick said.

"We don't know where it's going," Judy replied. "We can't evacuate an entire district!"

The radio crackled back to life.

"… _Hopps? Hopps!_" The voice that came through the radio was not Clawhauser's.

"Chief Bogo!" Judy picked the radio up. "What happened? We need to know what to do."

"_Damn thing's tail took out the side of the building,_" Bogo explained. "_It's heading towards Otterdam._"

"We can begin evacuation," Hopps suggested.

"_Do it,_" was Bogo's answer.

* * *

_Zootopia News Network, Live Report_

"_This is Fabienne Growley, reporting live from the ZNN chopper above Savanna Central, as the gigantic unknown creature is tearing through the district. It's currently making its way through Troop Street, on a course towards Otterdam. ZPD is trying to evacuate the area in the creature's path. In spite of the devastation so far, the Mayor has put out a statement urging Zootopians to remain calm._"

* * *

The creature reached the end of Troop Street to find a massive apartment block in its way. Instead of trying to turn its lumbering mass in another direction, it raised its lulling head up the side of the building and began to climb it.

The building was not designed to take 150 tons of weight, and as a result, the moment the creature reached the top, it collapsed.

The creature was completely unfazed by the destruction it had just wrought and continued along its path, not caring for any obstacle in its way.

Then, without warning, it stopped moving. Shakily, it hauled itself upright.

It then collapsed to the ground with a gigantic thud.

* * *

_City Hall_

Lionheart watched the news feed live as the creature collapsed to the ground.

"It's stopped moving," Lionheart said. "Hopefully it's exhausted itself."

"We don't know what we're dealing with, sir," his deer advisor told him.

Lionheart's phone rang. He answered.

"_Sir, Doctor Ishiro Serizawa from Monarch is here to see you._"

"I didn't make any appointments with whoever this guy is, so you tell him I have more important-"

"_He says he's here about the creature in Savanna Central._"

Lionheart gritted his teeth.

"Fine. Send him up," Lionheart said finally, returning his attention to the television screen.

* * *

Little did Lionheart realise that the creature had not stopped moving because it was exhausted.

The air surrounding it grew hotter as it began to stir. It began to stand upright again, its legs shaking violently as it did so. As it did, it started to grow in mass. Its dorsal plates grew larger and more numerous. Its legs grew larger and sturdier. Its gills shrivelled. Out of its shoulder stubs grew tiny arms.

As it stood upright, it let out a bellowing roar.

_AAAUREOOOONK!_

* * *

Judy clutched her ears as the roar echoed throughout the district. Even Nick winced upon hearing how loud it was.

"Carrots! Are you alright?" Nick leaned over to her.

As he did so, the cruiser shook. Looking up, Nick could see the creature, which looked to stand over fifty metres tall, taking steps towards them. Each step it took shook the earth. As before, the creature took no care in what it was stepping on or demolishing in its path, but its eerie, large-eyed gaze stared straight ahead towards the city centre.

* * *

That's it for this chapter! Sorry for it taking so long to get out. This chapter also brings us right back to the start of chapter 1, so we can proceed from there.

For those of you viewing on AO3 and DeviantArt, I'm trying something a little bit different with this story. You may notice that the creature's roar here is underlined. That's because I've linked it to the sound effect I'm hearing when writing this. I went back and did the same with Godzilla's roar in the previous chapter. Tell me what you think! Does it work? Unfortunately, FFN does not allow you to do that, so I apologise to my readers there.


	3. Forces of Evolution

Hi all!

No, this story is not dead. I've been busy with a lot of things since the last chapter and _Futures Past_ is approaching its final act. With it being nearer to the finish, I decided to focus my attention there for the past few months.

There was also the fact of a certain new movie coming out in May which I decided to wait for in order to see whether there was any new way I should approach the Legendary Godzilla. That, combined with the novelization and the Aftershock comic book tie-in gave me some ideas for the story. As a result, I've had to write a new ending, which also means that working on this has taken a lot longer than I thought it would since elements of what I was writing now fed into the ending.

Special thanks to J Shute Norway for beta-reading this one!

* * *

**Forces of Evolution**

Every footstep the giant took shook the earth underneath it. It walked as if it were a toddler, its every step made as if it were unsure whether it was about to stumble over or not.

And then it tripped over on something, letting out a loud screech as it dropped to the ground with the biggest crash Judy and Nick had ever heard.

Judy was still reeling from the impossibly loud roars of the creature as she and Nick got to higher ground, for the first time able to survey for themselves the wreckage wrought by the monster.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked in a concerned tone, placing a paw on Judy's shoulder. She looked at him, cradling the base of her ears with her paws.

"I can barely hear anything," she whimpered. "My ears are ringing."

The ground shook again as the creature got back up onto its feet in a shaky fashion. Once it righted itself, it started trudging again towards the north of the city.

Judy and Nick looked over the devastation. Smoke poured from buildings decimated in the wake of the creature's rampage through Savanna Central.

"How…?" Judy breathed, "How did it get to this?"

"_All units, we have received a sighting of something big heading for the Lion's Tail,_" came an urgent voice from Judy's radio.

"_Outback Island calling for assistance! Creature sighting! This one's much bigger!_"

"Oh no…" Judy gasped.

Judy had already stopped listening to the radio as she looked towards the Lion's Tail in the south of the district. The creature that had come ashore was massive. It made the one stomping through Otterdam look like a child by comparison. Unlike the flayed appearance of the first creature, the second looked far more reptilian in nature. Its arms were much longer, and terminated with webbed fingers.

_SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-ooonk!_

The first creature stopped moving and slowly pivoted to face the source of the new creature as it began its own journey towards Otterdam, apparently drawn in by the first creature.

Judy, meanwhile, had collapsed to the ground, clutching her ears, unable to hear her partner yelling her name. The earth beneath the pair of them shook as the titanic creature slowly stomped its way towards them.

Nick tried to get Judy to look at him, picking her up and shaking and shaking her as he called her name, but nothing seemed to revive her. It dawned on him that she had passed out from the pain induced by the roar of the creature. One of her arms fell limp, revealing a trickle of blood coming from her left ear.

Carefully, Nick scooped Judy up and headed straight for the nearest thing he could think of: Herd Street Subway Station.

Above ground, the smaller of the two creatures glared at the much larger predator making its way toward it. Heat sizzled from the smaller creature's back, its dorsal plates starting to glow a bright red. Glancing over its shoulder briefly, it let out a bellow at the larger creature.

_Rrrrrrrr… AAAUREOOOONK!_

The flayed creature turned away from its pursuer, crouched like its previous form and ran. Buildings in its path did not matter to it as it headed straight through Savanna Central towards Mole Harbour.

The titanic creature watched as it dove into the bay. Unconcerned by anything else, the creature arched its neck and let out a roar.

_SKREEEEEEE!_

It turned its massive bulk towards the direction its prey had gone, every step causing a tremor.

* * *

_Zootopia General Hospital_

"_Clean-up crews are busy assessing the damage done to the Savanna Central district after the rampage of two massive unidentified life forms. Analysts estimate the cost of repairing the district to be in the millions of dollars. It's currently unclear what the death toll is, but numbers are currently suggested to be in the hundreds…_"

Nick was not paying attention to the television in the waiting room at all. Once the creatures had returned to the sea he had made a bead for the nearest hospital, which was Zootopia General. Judy had been taken in quickly by doctors, while he'd had been made to sit in the waiting room.

Of course, for Nick, it seemed like an eternity before a doctor emerged from the wards.

"Mr. Wilde?" an ocelot doctor called out. Nick stood up.

"How is she?" Nick asked.

"Miss Hopps is going to be okay," the doctor told Nick, "but she has perforated eardrums and those will take some time to heal. We've seen a lot of it today, since… well, we've prescribed her some antibiotics to minimize the risk of infection. She can hear you but not as well as she can normally."

"Can I see her?" Nick requested.

"Yes, but please refrain from making loud noises," the ocelot replied.

Nick nodded curtly as he headed for the room Judy was in. She was sat on the bed, and immediately Nick noticed her ears had been bandaged.

"Geez, Carrots, you look terrible," Nick remarked. Judy shot him a glare.

"Happens when your eardrums burst," Judy grumbled.

"Point taken," Nick replied. "You can still hear what I'm saying well enough?"

"You're coming in muffled through the ringing, but I can read your lips," Judy answered.

"You're going to be relieved from duty, you know that, right?" Nick raised an eyebrow.

"So what if I can't hear properly? I'm not going to let that stop me helping," Judy frowned.

"For once, Wilde is right," came a voice from the doorway. Nick turned around and Judy followed suit, not quite hearing the voice. In the doorway stood Chief Bogo. His uniform was dirty, and his arms had numerous scratches.

"What happened to you?" Nick asked.

"That creature took out the side of the Precinct," Bogo replied. "Some of the officers were injured and since I am Chief, it's my responsibility to check on the safety and wellbeing of my Officers. That includes the annoying vulpine."

"Flattered, Chief, but I'm already spoken for," Nick grinned.

"Shut your mouth, Wilde," Bogo responded.

"What do you want us to do, Chief?" Judy got out of the bed. Bogo turned to Nick.

"Wilde, how long did the doctors say it would take for Hopps to recover?" Bogo asked. Nick chanced a glance at Judy, before staring back at Bogo.

"Three months, sir," Nick answered. Bogo let out a sigh through his nostrils.

"Go home, Hopps," Bogo said. "Wilde is right: you're not in much of a state to work right now."

"But, sir…" Judy protested.

"That's an order," Bogo said firmly. "Take a couple of weeks. You too, Wilde. Make sure she doesn't do anything…" Bogo paused, contemplating his words. "Just make sure she doesn't do _anything_."

* * *

_Zootopia News Network report._

"_Good afternoon, Zootopia. The city has begun clearing up after two gigantic creatures came ashore and wreaked havoc, damaging and destroying property estimated to come into millions of dollars. We're also receiving reports of illness among those who did not evacuate in time but survived. It is not yet clear why this has happened, but scientists have begun to examine the sites these monsters came ashore in the belief that these creatures may have carried diseases with them. We'll have more on this story as it breaks."_

* * *

_Emergency Shelter, City Hall_

The City Council had been evacuated to the cellar shelter underneath City Hall, where they began setting up a task force to deal with the carnage caused by the two behemoth creatures. Lionheart's deer advisor surveyed the map on the wall, which had pins and string attached to it denoting where the two creatures had been. She shook her head as she stared incredulously.

"What's on your mind, Mallory?" Lionheart asked the advisor.

"Why didn't we come down here in the first place?" Mallory queried.

"I didn't think it would come ashore, and there's nothing in the book about a monster attack," Lionheart replied. "If I didn't think one could come ashore, how the heck am I supposed to know there would be _two_ of them?!"

"Perhaps…" came a voice from behind Lionheart, "if you had agreed to meeting us sooner, we could have warned you."

Lionheart turned around to the stares of three extra mammals: a middle-aged rabbit with black-tipped ears and stripes running across his cheeks; a vixen with cream fur, and a spectacled hare who appeared older than both of them.

"You will have to forgive my student, he has a blunt attitude," the hare said.

"Would you mind telling us exactly what those things are, Doctor…?" Lionheart began.

"Serizawa Ishiro," the hare responded. "These are my students, Doctor Jack Hopps," Serizawa indicated to the black-tipped rabbit, who scowled at Lionheart.

"Any relation to Judy Hopps?" Lionheart raised an eyebrow.

"Hopps is a common lagomorph last name," Jack retorted, maintaining his scowl.

"And this is Doctor Sora Kōsetsu," Serizawa indicated to the vixen in an attempt to get back on track. "We work for Monarch, an organization that tracks and studies these _kaijū_."

"Kai-ju?" Lionheart repeated.

"Another term we use for them is 'Titans'," Serizawa explained. "We have been tracking one of the Titans that came ashore here for the past two weeks as it was pursued by _Gojira_."

"Go… jira?" Lionheart said. Serizawa handed a memory stick to Sora, and she went over to the computer attached to a projector. Mallory switched the computer on, logged in and stepped aside to allow Sora to plug in the memory stick. An image flared to life on the projector screen.

It showed a giant creature emerging from the sea around what appeared to be tropical islands. Jagged spines ran down its back.

"Is that…?" Mallory began.

"_Gojira_," Serizawa confirmed. "This was taken in 1954. Bikini Atoll."

"Wasn't that where they conducted the nuclear tests?" Lionheart asked. "Maybe that thing was caused by them."

"You would be wrong," Jack stated bluntly. "Those tests didn't create _Gojira_. They weren't even tests. They were deliberate attempts to kill it."

"Can't say I disagree with them for trying," Lionheart shrugged. "And now this… this _Godzilla_ has come to our city… why?"

"It was chasing something," Serizawa answered. "_Gojira_ is, we believe, a part of the natural order, an ancient alpha predator that retreated to the depths of the ocean in order to survive in a world with less radiation for it to feed on. Nuclear testing awoke it from its hibernation."

"What about this second thing?" Lionheart asked.

"When we began tracking it, it had a different form," Jack said. "It's changed twice since, and now it has emerged into your city it has shown us another two forms."

"It may be a relative species of _Gojira_," Sora theorised, "but perhaps proximity to the Janjira power plant has mutated it to the point where it evolves quickly. It was the meltdown there that brought it to our attention in the first place."

"There is another distinct possibility that it was a creature living on the sea floor at the time of the Bikini Atoll detonation." Serizawa added. "It may be a creature that has been mutating over the past sixty-five years. It may be evolving into a new _Gojira_."

"How does any of this help my city?" Lionheart demanded.

"If major evolution stages are triggered by radiation bursts, then it's possible that one such surge from the Janjira meltdown may have caused it. It may also have drawn in _Gojira_, since he feeds off radiation himself," Serizawa explained. "_Shin Gojira_ may have fled after Gojira appeared, but there was _something_ that drew it here."

"Does this… other Godzilla feed of radiation like the first?" Lionheart asked.

"We don't have the data to answer, but yes: it's possible," Sora replied.

"Doesn't the Climate Wall have a nuclear reactor deep underground?" Jack asked.

"We're in the process of decommissioning it to use cleaner energy," Lionheart said.

"Are you suggesting that this… Shin Godzilla got drawn in by the reactor… from all the way in Japan?" Mallory asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's more likely that it was fleeing _Gojira_ and only sensed the radiation when it got to these waters," Sora explained.

"And if they come back…?" Lionheart asked.

"We may have to consider some sort of… military response," Mallory responded.

"Short of tanks and aircraft, what are we going to do against two beasts that are as tall as skyscrapers?" Lionheart questioned. "I'm not prepared to unleash that kind of Hell on the city or its citizens!"

"Perhaps the government will destroy them out in the waters," Mallory suggested.

"A military response would be a mistake," Serizawa interjected.

"A nuclear warhead couldn't kill _Gojira_ in 1954. Short of trying with something stronger…" Jack began.

"_Gojira_ will only come ashore if it is chasing something," Serizawa continued. "If we can keep _Shin Gojira_ away, then _Gojira_ will have no reason to come ashore."

"That makes it sound like you have a way to track Godzilla," Lionheart said.

"Follow the radiation," Jack replied.

* * *

_Hopps/Wilde Apartment, Savanna Central_

"This is a load of…" Judy began as she collapsed onto the settee.

"Ah, ah, ah, Carrots," Nick wagged a finger at her. "Careful what you say."

"I should be out there helping," Judy protested, "not stuck in here watching paint dry."

"Spoken like the Judy Hopps I remember," Nick said, placing a hand on his chest. "She would be proud."

"Shut it, you dork," Judy managed a chuckle.

"You know you love me," Nick shot back, a grin on his muzzle.

"Sometimes, I wonder," Judy answered, a slight grin gracing her lips.

"Ouch, that hurts," Nick feigned injury. "Speaking of hurting, how are your ears?"

"I don't think 'sore' is enough," Judy mumbled.

"Well, I know something that _might_ help," Nick slid over next to Judy. He pulled Judy into a hug.

"Might work," Judy mumbled.

The two of them sat there for some time, enjoying the embrace and thinking of something that didn't have to do with gigantic monsters and ear-splitting roars.

A knock came at the door, breaking them both out of their contented relaxation. Or rather, it broke Nick out of his, with Judy following his gaze to their front door.

"Let's just leave it," Nick said. Whoever it was knocked again. Though Judy couldn't exactly hear it properly, she took notice of Nick's annoyed expression and pulled herself out from Nick's arms. She headed for the door and opened it.

"Tell them to buzz off, whoever it is," Nick grumbled, before remembering that Judy probably wouldn't hear him properly anyway. He got up from the couch to see who it was at the door, half-expecting Bogo or another one of their fellow officers checking up on them.

It was not any of them. Stood at the door was a rabbit with black stripes on his face. By Nick's estimation, he looked to be in his late forties. Nick glanced at Judy, taking note of her apparent surprise. There was also a hint of familiarity etched into her face.

"Hi, kiddo," the older buck

"Uncle Jack?" Judy remarked.

* * *

I hate to leave it there (not really lol) but I feel this would be a good jumping point to the next chapter.

Jack Hopps is this story's version of Jack Savage, as you all can tell. From the start the plan was to make him a relation to Judy. Originally he was her cousin, only to be older than her by a couple of years. But when I revisited this story after seeing _King of the Monsters_, that was one of the things I wanted to revise. So I made him her uncle. I never mentioned his or Sora's ages previously, so it worked, especially since they both essentially serve as the stand-in for Sally Hawkins' character from the films. Jack is Judy's uncle through Bonnie's side of the family, so he's only a few years younger than Bonnie.

I changed Sora's last name from what was established previously – I think it fits much better now.

I have no idea when the next chapter will be out. By the time you read this, I'm back at university so my time will be limited when it comes to working on this, but rest assured: if it takes months to do it, this story _will_ be continuing.

Please leave reviews. What did you like? What didn't you like? What's your guess as to what's happening next? As I said, _King of the Monsters_ kind of gave me so much material it changed the way the story is going to unfold.

Since I have no idea when the next chapter is going to be out, allow me to give you a small taster of events to come. In the next chapter, Jack and Judy reminisce about old times. Meanwhile, the ZPD, with the aid of Monarch, begin preparations for the possibility of the re-emergence of the two Titans. Unknown to them, Shin Gojira is evolving in order to remove its vulnerabilities to Godzilla…

Until next time!


	4. Aftermath Of The Arrival

Hi, all! It's been a while! I've been very busy, but lately this story has re-entered my mind and now _Futures Past_ is finished, I can put a bit more time in to this one, alongside the _Reconciliation_ rewrites. For those on FFN, welcome back!

Special thanks to the reviewers from the previous chapter:

AO3: x_uve, WildeHopps, upplet, DancouMaryuu

FFN: Cimar of Turalis Wildehopps

DeviantArt: Cimar-WildeHopps

And, of course, special thanks to the beta readers: DancouMaryuu

Let's get on with the show!

* * *

**Aftermath Of The Arrival**

_Emergency Shelter, City Hall_

"Solutions, folks!" Lionheart called out. "We need them _yesterday_!"

It had been a couple of hours since Lionheart had spoken with the representatives from Monarch, and they had left, presumably to go and chase the monsters. That left Lionheart with his aides and councilmembers.

"Shutting down the reactor powering the climate wall might work," one of Lionheart's goat aides suggested.

"This isn't something you can just turn off then on again like some cheap tech fix," Mallory retorted.

"Nuclear reactors have to be shut down in sequence, and the radiation could take years to clear," one of the scientists, an ibex, piped up. "If what the Monarch scientists have told us is true, these Titans won't go away just because the reactor is switched off."

The ibex paused in thought.

"Though it _might_ be possible to draw them off if they come back," he said.

"I'm listening," Lionheart responded.

"You'd have to get permission from the President, but it might be possible to requisition a nuke, arm it, float it a safe distance offshore and lure them both there," the scientist explained, "Detonate it. Problem solved."

"Good plan. Just one problem with it," Lionheart replied. "_They've already tried nukes on these things and they didn't work!_ Radiation just feeds them! I am _not_ going to agree to allowing any sort of nuclear strike near this city, especially when we know it won't work!"

"Sir…" an alpaca aide came into the shelter, "there's a phone call for you. It's the President."

"Great…" Lionheart groaned, rubbing his temples.

* * *

_Hopps/Wilde Apartment, Savanna Central_

Jack Hopps, one of the many younger brothers of Judy's mother, sat down on the settee as he looked at his niece.

"I had no idea you'd moved in with somebody," Jack remarked. Overall, he seemed unbothered by the fact that Judy was with a fox.

"I did hear about the whole thing that went down with Bellwether. I'm sorry I couldn't be here for that. I've been busy, especially as of late."

"Uncle Jack works abroad as a biologist," Judy explained to Nick.

"You picked a sucky time to holiday in Zootopia," Nick remarked.

"Actually…" Jack began, "that's the exact reason I'm here."

"Those two monsters?" Judy asked. Jack nodded.

"We've been observing one of them for a really long time," Jack said. "The other one… we haven't seen before."

"Why are we just hearing about these things?" Nick frowned. "If there was one thing I would want to know, it's that there's a giant lizard on the loose that could flatten a city in a few steps."

"Both of you are police officers, so surely you would know the dangers of allowing information that could cause a panic to spread," Jack explained.

"It's a bit late for that, don't you think?" Nick raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Up until recently, _Gojira_'s been dormant, content to feed off the radiation at the bottom of the ocean. That is, until something caught its attention," Jack explained. "If there's one thing _Gojira_ seems to not like, it's what it thinks are usurpers to its position as apex predator."

"So, your work here is done, right?" Nick said. "They've both gone, and the city is starting to rebuild. Surely that's the end of that story?"

"Don't count your Titans before they make landfall," Jack said. "The mammals I work with are investigating, but there is every chance the creature could come back."

"We should be helping prepare the city for that," Judy crossed her arms.

"I know we should, but you're not in a fit state to do that," Nick pointed out. He looked at Jack and added: "Help me out here, Jack – can I call you Jack? Tell her that she's not ready to."

"If you've known my niece long enough, you'll know once she makes her mind up on these things, you're probably not going to change it," Jack answered.

Nick shook his head.

"Sounds right," he remarked.

* * *

_Temporary Precinct One Headquarters_

The ZPD had temporarily deployed trailers into the square outside Precinct One while the damage to their building was assessed and repairs were ongoing.

Bogo looked over a map of Zootopia. There were red markings over where the two creatures had made landfall, and where the damage had been made.

There was no guarantee that the creatures would not come back. Ergo, Bogo had to make plans for ZPD to assist in potential evacuations.

To say that it was a big headache would have been understating things. For now, things were at a lull. Many mammals in the path of either monster had been taken to hospital. Some, like Judy, had hearing damage. Some hadn't made it through alive.

There _were_ casualties from the rampage of the morphing monster; it had flattened many homes in its frantic scurrying around the District, and not all the mammals in its path had time to escape before it was upon them.

"How are things here?" came a voice from behind Bogo. He turned to see Lionheart approaching him.

"As well as you could expect," Bogo said. "What brings you here, Leo?"

"I have just had a rather… interesting talk with the President," Lionheart remarked.

"Is he telling us to evacuate the city?" Bogo asked.

"No, at least not yet," Lionheart replied, "but I was made aware that our Government has been aware of these things since 1954. In fact, an organization whose representatives I spoke to today was formed by governments across the globe. Long story short: if those creatures return, then they may have no choice but to send in the military."

"What?" Bogo exclaimed in shock. "Are they serious? What does that mean?"

"Who knows, Akida?" Lionheart replied. "It turns out they tried dropping a nuke on this… _Godzilla_ thing back in '54, but we saw just how well _that_ worked."

"If a nuclear weapon did no damage back then," Bogo said, "then that means nothing they have now will work. Short of dropping a larger nuclear bomb."

"I told the President the exact same thing, and I told him that I would not see a nuclear device used on this city," Lionheart agreed. "He told me that they have been developing anti-Titan weapons, but they weren't ready yet and a nuclear strike might be the only option available."

Bogo shook his head.

"This has just gone from a nightmare to…" Bogo began.

"I need to make an address to the city," Lionheart said, "hopefully one that won't be proven wrong the second I say it. We need to warn the city that they should prepare for evacuation. I've already had City Hall start preparations."

"The ZPD will help where we can," Bogo affirmed.

"I'll have City Hall send you the evacuation plan once it's been drawn up," Lionheart remarked. "Goodness, I just hope there aren't _more_ of these things out there somewhere. I miss the days where the monsters were much smaller."

"You and me both, Leo," Bogo replied. "At least we could arrest _those_ monsters."

* * *

_Animalian Sea_

Since being chased out of Zootopia by Godzilla, the creature dubbed 'Shin Godzilla' had swam as far into the depths of the sea as it could in order to try and escape its pursuer. Its size then and its recent evolution into an upright-standing creature meant that it was no match for the much larger alpha predator.

The military had sent submarines into the depths in order to try and trace the whereabouts of the two Titans and to destroy them if found. The _ZSS Nautilus_ had stumbled across Shin Godzilla in its recovering form. However, before it could fire its torpedoes at the creature, the creature had attacked the submarine. Even though the _Nautilus_ was longer than Shin Godzilla by 38 metres, her hull was no match for the boiled radioactive blood that spewed from its mouth, boring a hole through the submarine. The 120 mammals aboard didn't have time to scream.

Sensing the radioactive material that it fed on to survive, Shin Godzilla bit into the hole it had created. The radiation started to bleed out and Shin Godzilla absorbed it. As it did so, it started to change yet again. Its body started to lengthen, its arms grew bigger and the teeth protruding from its maw grew in number.

It took half an hour for Shin Godzilla to finish absorbing all the radiation it could get from the submarine's reactor. By the time it was done, the Titan's size had nearly doubled. The remains of the submarine clutched in its malformed arms, Shin Godzilla turned around and headed back the way it came.

* * *

This has taken _ages_ to get done, partly because I was sure I would write this too short. I received some advice recently which told me that I should not worry about it. So, here it is: not the longest chapter, but it's a chapter all the same.

Coming soon: Shin Godzilla returns to Zootopia.


	5. Titan Science

… I bet you thought this was dead! But, just like Godzilla himself, he can sleep for a long time before becoming active again. This story _will_ be finished.

Special thanks to the reviewers from the previous chapter: x_uve, TheJokerMan, Cimar-WildeHopps

And, of course, special thanks to the beta readers: Metro (Dancou-Maryuu)

Let's get on with the show!

* * *

**Titan Science**

_Cliffside Asylum_

Doctor Madge Honey Badger was looking at the most interesting thing in her career – even more so than trying to figure out why predators were going savage. It didn't stop her from being frustrated the same way, though.

The creature that had rampaged through Zootopia had left behind biological elements that were proving to be a much more complicated thing to work out than she had anticipated.

It was true that Dr. Badger had failed to uncover the reason that predators were going savage, but since being released from prison, she had dedicated time to studying the biologically unknown. She'd vowed not to be tricked by something like that ever again.

Studying the biomatter given to her was sailing her close to that edge. She had never seen anything like it before. She had examined the genetic coding of the savage predators, hoping to find a common link (even though she had to acknowledge now that there was none), but this? The genetic coding was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

How was she supposed to figure out what this thing was, much less find a way to stop it?

Unorthodox times meant unorthodox measures, and Dr. Badger had asked for research into mutations caused by radiation. One such research paper, written by a Hinodese zoologist named Goro Maki, proved a fascinating read. It posited the theory that it was likely that an ancient, unidentified breed of sea reptile had found itself surrounded with radioactivity and had adapted in order to withstand and consume it as a food source.

He had called the creature Godzilla in English and the name _Gojira_ in Hinodese. Unlike the creature Monarch had been tracking, which also shared the name _Gojira_, the one Maki had been studying was referred to as 'God Incarnate'. For the sake of the research, Maki's Godzilla had been named 'Shin Godzilla' – or 'New Godzilla' – by Monarch.

Dr. Badger had come to the conclusion, based on what she knew, that the creature was likely sustained by nuclear fission, though this was a conclusion that wasn't exactly unknown: Lionheart himself had deduced that the creature had been drawn to Zootopia by the nuclear reactor powering the Climate Wall.

The other creature, the Old Godzilla, was just as interesting, but it had not left behind any biomatter to study. Monarch had given her access to files that suggested that it had evolved from an ancient Permian-era super-predator that fed on radiation, and that its favoured source was located deep at the bottom of the ocean, where no submarine could go without being crushed by the pressure. The creature must have evolved an incredibly resilient skin and skeleton in order to survive that pressure.

It would have been fascinating to study _properly_. Unfortunately, the situation made the thought an impossibility, and there was no biological material from that creature to study. Madge would have to settle for the observational notes from Monarch. The only creature that she had biomatter from was Shin Godzilla.

Even the material that Dr. Badger was studying acted as though it were still a part of the whole. Imagine her shock when she went back to study the material, only to find that it had grown an eye! A freezing agent had to be applied in order to stop it from mutating further, but the discovery provided an interesting, yet terrifying possibility: potentially, any biological matter taken from the creature could mutate into an entirely new creature.

Video taken from the media appeared to show that Shin Godzilla also gave off an immense amount of heat after a major mutation. She guessed that its returning to the ocean wasn't _just_ because of the arrival of the much larger alpha Godzilla – it was to cool itself down. The heat radiated from its dorsal plates, and Dr. Badger assumed that, much like certain dinosaurs like the _Stegosaurus_, the dorsal plates served as part of a thermoregulatory system.

The unfortunate conclusion that Dr. Badger had come to, based on her observations, was that they were unlikely to be able to kill Shin Godzilla, and that the next time it came ashore, it would very likely have adapted to do so without needing to return to the ocean. Even the freezing agent that had been applied to this relatively small sample of the creature's biomatter couldn't be guaranteed to work.

* * *

"… what did you just say?" Lionheart said. He had decided to pay a visit to Cliffside in order to check in on Dr. Badger's progress in finding a way of pacifying the creature. Mallory, and Doctors Ishiro Serizawa, Sora Kōsetsu and Jack Hopps, had joined him.

"The way in which the creature adapts would make it very difficult to stop it, and that's the best-case scenario," Dr. Badger repeated.

"I put you in here to figure out a way to kill this thing before it comes back and causes more damage," Lionheart growled. "Need I remind you the last time you gave up half-way through?"

The jab at Dr. Badger's inability to find the cause of the savagery in predators was something she'd expected.

"Nature has a balance," Serizawa interjected.

"What are you suggesting?" Lionheart turned to him.

"If we cannot find a way to stop _Shin Gojira_ ourselves, then we must put our faith in something that _can_," Serizawa answered. "Balance must be achieved. _Gojira_ is the key to restore that balance."

"Are you saying we should… what? Let them fight?" Lionheart crossed his arms.

"Unless you happen to have an anti-Titan weapon lying around, have you got a better suggestion?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Doctor Hopps is correct that conventional weaponry is likely to prove ineffective," Mallory stated.

"The only non-conventional weapon left is a nuclear weapon, and I will _not_ allow one anywhere near this city," Lionheart growled.

"Didn't work last time anyway," Jack added.

"Perhaps… we can use it as bait to lure them out before detonating it," Dr. Badger suggested. All eyes turned on her.

"Killing _Gojira_ would be a mistake," Sora remarked.

"As already discussed, nuclear weapons failed to kill _Gojira_ in 1954, and it was far smaller than it is now," Serizawa added.

"The explosion might put Godzilla into a state of hibernation," Dr. Badger countered. "And we can guess that Shin Godzilla might not be able to withstand the same explosion. It's not a creature that has adapted to the same environments over eons as Godzilla has."

"She has a point," Jack nodded.

"I…" Lionheart began, unsure of how to respond.

"It's the only plan that we have," Dr. Badger said. "Lure them both out with a nuclear warhead, detonate it in the hopes it kills Shin Godzilla and forces Old Godzilla into hibernation. What other choice do we have? Let them fight in the city? You might as well order a nuclear strike on Zootopia itself."

"Are there no alternatives?" Lionheart asked. "What about the freezing agent you mentioned?"

"It worked on a small amount of the creature's biomatter, but have you got any idea how much of that freezing agent would be needed to stop a creature of that size?" Dr. Badger responded. "Not to mention you would need to find a reliable method of delivery. Unless you happen to have ten-foot syringes lying around, that's not going to be possible _or _practical."

Lionheart put a paw on his head.

"Fine…" Lionheart conceded. "I'll… need to make some phone calls. And… in case this doesn't work, I'll need to have civilians evacuated."

Lionheart's pocket vibrated and he pulled his cell phone from it.

"Mayor Lionheart," Lionheart answered. He frowned as he listened to the mammal calling, but that frown was soon replaced by a look of utter shock. He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket.

"One of them has been spotted in the Zootopian Sea, six miles off the coast," Lionheart announced.

* * *

_Zootopian Sea_

Acting purely on instinct and moving at an almost zombie-like pace, Shin Godzilla had been drawn back towards Zootopia. As the sea floor rose towards the water's surface, Shin Godzilla was able to stand, and it could amble towards its goal.

Within the hour, its head had surfaced above water, its target in sight.

* * *

_Zootopia News Network_

"_Good afternoon, citizens of Zootopia. I'm Fabienne Growley with a public emergency broadcast. Mayor Lionheart has issued an evacuation order for the citizens of Zootopia. The ZPD will assist in evacuating the city as the creature known as Shin Godzilla has surfaced in the Zootopian Sea and is coming ashore. Please gather your essential belongings as quickly as possible and make your way to the nearest ZPD evacuation point, which will be sent via the Public Alert System to all Zootopia's citizens' cell phones."_

_Excerpt from 'Gojira (__呉爾羅__)/Godzilla – Theoretical Discovery Of Species On Ocean Floor'_

_Written by Doctor Goro Maki_

'_The creature, discovered deep within the Pawcific Ocean, was found among the wreckage of what appears to be nuclear waste containers. Under normal circumstances, any creature exposed to such high amounts of radiation would die, most likely in excruciating fashion. However, the creature has not only survived being surrounded with nuclear waste, but has somehow mutated to feed on it._

_It is not known exactly what kind of creature Gojira was prior to its mutation, though cursory analysis seems to link it to a long-extinct marine predator dating back to the Permian era. If the creature continues to dwell in this environment, mutations triggered by the radiation could lead to the creature 'evolving' – or, more accurately, the creature could theoretically undergo a form of metamorphosis that sees it become something new altogether. Theoretically, if exposed to radioactive material long enough, it could rapidly undergo this process based on the conditions it finds itself in.'_

* * *

And that's a wrap on this chapter!

Fun fact – Godzilla's Japanese name, Gojira, name is usually written in katakana (ゴジラ) but in Shin Godzilla, within the film itself, Goro Maki wrote Godzilla using ateji (呉爾羅).


End file.
